1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a prefabricated, slip-resistant surface coating, and more particularly, to a prefabricated coating adapted to make a bathtub surface slip-resistant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many techniques have been used to reduce the hazard presented by wet bathtubs. One well known prior art technique employs vinyl patches having on one side a textured surface and having on the other side an adhesive designed to hold the patches on the bottom of the bathtub. Unfortunately, these vinyl patches have shortcomings that seriously limit their utility. First, they must be made sufficiently thick to be able to provide a textured surface; that is, since it is the transitions between thick and thin areas which provide the patches' non-slip property, they must be made thick enough to provide both thick and thin portions. As a result, it is always apparent that the patches are added to rather than being an integral part of the bathtub. This shortcoming has been addressed by frankly acknowledging that such patches are simply stuck on the tub and trying to make them as attractive as possible so that they can be used as decoration. The decorative ability of the patches has been further enhanced by providing them in colors to compliment the tub color and in attractive shapes. However, many still consider such patches so unattractive that they would rather risk injury than use them.
In any case, this approach remains an imperfect solution because the patches, which must be made sufficiently thick to provide a textured surface and of a flexible material such as vinyl to provide the textured surface with a comfortable "feel" and sufficient slip-resistance, are easily worked loose from the tub surface. For example, repeatedly rubbing the tub to clean it tends to peel the edges of the patches away from the tub because of their excessive thickness. Once an edge of a patch begins to work loose from the tub, dirt sticks to the residual adhesive on the exposed surface of the patch and on the tub, presenting an extremely unattractive appearance. Moreover, once an edge works loose, the area of the loose portion progressively and irreversibly increases, and the patch becomes even more unattractive.
The problem of maintaining an intimate bond between the entire surface of the patch and the tub is aggravated because the patches are made of vinyl, the flexibility and thermal instability of which causes the patch to move against the tub when the tub is being used of cleaned, thereby increasing even further the likelihood of the patch working loose from the tub surface. Moreover, the material properties of vinyl also limit the number of adhesives that can be used, thereby further reducing the strength of the bond between the patches and the tub.
Finally, the adhesives that are used for such patches, while perhaps failing to bond intimately to the patch, do nevertheless tend to have a very good affinity for the smooth surfaces used for bathtubs, such as epoxy or porcelain, and, when the patch is finally removed, great difficulty is encountered in removing residual adhesive from the tub.
Thus, although such patches reduce the hazard presented by a wet bathtub, they have proved to be a less than ideal solution.
Another technique of providing a slip-resistant surface on a bathtub, more recent in origin, involves providing a coating on the tub surface using a preparation such as a liquid resin having silica particles suspended in it. After adding any necessary additional ingredients, such as a suitable catalyst or thinning agent, a thin coating of the preparation is spread on the tub surface, which, when cured, provides an essentially waterproof coating that is intimately bonded to the tub. Since this coating is no thicker than a layer of paint, it can be made virtually invisible if a clear polymer is used and it thus appears to be part of the tub. And if the bottom of the bathtub is worn, the coating can be tinted, so that application thereof effectively provides a new finish on the bottom of the tub.
This technique, although extremely effective for its intended purpose, is primarily useful only in commercial settings, such as hotels, because it requires professional expertise to prepare and apply the polymer-silica preparation, which is feasible financially only when a tub needs refinishing or a large number of tubs are to be threaded. It is generally too expensive for homeowners to employ such a coating simply as a safety measure on tubs that are still in acceptable condition. Moreover, after the coating is applied, the bathtub cannot be used while the coating cures. This not only tends to be unacceptable to homeowners, because of the obvious inconvenience resulting from the loss of the use of their bathtubs, but also is undesirable even for commercial users such as hotels because of the resulting loss of revenue.